Osen
What I really really liked about Osen is the constant compare-and-contrast between past and present. Things like, is it really necessary to get rid of the un-modern things? Is it really that new inventions are better?
I was struck by episode 1 where Osen (Aoi Yu) just took her own time and creativity, as well as thoroughly understanding people’s stomachs, at the competition between her and this fugly speed-cooking teacher. Truely, good food comes only when it was prepared with love and care, not just anyhow chop and fry (or use microwave).
Osen at the first glance may be about Japanese food, but it is more than that. It is lamenting the loss of traditions, loss of the ability to appreciate heritage, the over-emphasis of modern. I was appalled at the last episode where the little kid just drop dollops of ketchup on everything Osen and her crew prepared painstakingly. Whoever eats sashimi and daikon with ketchup! This kid represents how most kids are in this present day. They’ve lost the ability to appreciate good food; fast food and artificial flavourings had masked their taste buds. In fact, it is not just about food and kids; adults too have lost the ability to slow down and take a look at their environment, to just breathe and relax.
The other thing I like about Osen is the visible lack of the romantic department. It can get pretty tiring to watch endless hints of romance. The good food, colourful kimonos, various hairstyles of Osen the okami, the underlying tones of lost culture made Osen an interesting drama to watch. Too bad it had low viewership. The irony of the loss of ability of appreciate good dramas (non-ikemen, non-romance, non-melodrama) is reflected at the subpar viewership ratings here.
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